Gary Wayne Parris is described as a sad...

CHARGED IN FIRE.

September 16, 1988

NEVADA CITY, CALIF. — CHARGED IN FIRE. Gary Wayne Parris is described as a sad figure who wandered the streets carrying a plastic bucket and offering to wash windows for a few bucks. Parris is suspected of unwittingly sparking the fire that blackened more than 100 homes and 30,000 acres of Nevada and Yuba counties. Parris, 39, was to be arraigned Thursday in Nevada City Justice Court, but only for being drunk in public. He was cited Sunday for misdemeanor ''negligent burning'' near a cabin he stayed. Officials are considering charging him with ''reckless burning,'' a felony. That would raise his maximum sentence, if found guilty, to six years in prison.